Nigeria’s Aviation Minister Links Lagos Airport Rebuild to Fuel Subsidy Cut
NIGERIA · AVIATION
Key Facts
- —The country Nigeria sends roughly two-thirds of its international air passengers through one gateway, Lagos airport, where a major rebuild is under way.
- —What happened Aviation minister Festus Keyamo said on Monday 5 October that money freed by ending the fuel subsidy, not loans, paid for the Lagos rebuild.
- —How big Keyamo says President Bola Tinubu raised US$500 million; the cabinet priced the Lagos works at N712.26 billion (US$535 million) in 2025.
- —Also in Abuja Keyamo says Tinubu has approved Chinese contractor CCECC’s return to the capital’s airport to build its long-delayed second runway.
- —The catch The state fund behind the Lagos rebuild is built to draw in concessionary loans and pension money, not just savings.
- —Why now Opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar has promised to restore the petrol subsidy if he wins the January 2027 election.
Nigeria’s aviation minister says ending the petrol subsidy freed the cash for a US$500 million rebuild of Lagos airport. Festus Keyamo insisted the money was not borrowed.
He spoke on Monday 5 October at the 67th anniversary of Aero Contractors, a Nigerian airline founded in 1959. The claim comes as opposition figures demand the subsidy’s return before the January 2027 election.
What Keyamo Said About the Lagos Airport Money
Keyamo heads the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development. He spoke at the Aero hangar at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, the official name of Lagos airport.
He was answering the airline’s managing director, who asked about aviation’s place in the “Renewed Hope” agenda. That is Tinubu’s name for his reform programme.
Tinubu raised US$500 million “to rebuild the Lagos airport,” Keyamo said, according to Punch and Daily Trust. “Not money borrowed,” he added.
He said ending the fuel and foreign-exchange subsidies freed cash that once went on cheap petrol and a propped-up naira. Foreign reserves rose from US$3 billion to US$56 billion, he said.
Central Bank of Nigeria data give a different starting point. Gross reserves stood at about US$35.1 billion at the end of May 2023 and never fell below US$32 billion afterwards.
They reached US$54.95 billion on Friday 2 October 2026, according to the bank’s published series.
Past terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt were built with Chinese loans that Nigeria is still repaying, he added. The News Agency of Nigeria reported a government target of N1 trillion (US$751 million) for aviation infrastructure.
The Fund and the Contractor Behind the Rebuild
The US$500 million figure is not new. Keyamo spoke of roughly half a billion dollars for Lagos in April, Daily Trust reported.
He announced Tinubu’s approval of the sum at the Invest Lagos 3.0 summit on Monday 8 June 2026, Premium Times reported.
The programme behind it is older still. On Thursday 31 July 2025, the Federal Executive Council, Nigeria’s cabinet, approved N712.26 billion (US$535 million) for the Lagos works.
Keyamo said then that the works would be paid for entirely through the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, BusinessDay reported. The government fund covers roads, rail, ports, farming and aviation.
A presidency statement said the fund targets pension funds, concessionary loans, insurers and diaspora investors.
The contract went to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), which built the airport’s newer Terminal Two. The plan is to strip the old International Terminal One to its frame and refit it with new mechanical and electrical systems.
Terminal Two gets a new apron, access roads and bridges. The council set a 22-month schedule for the Lagos works.
More than 2,000 local workers, including welders and plumbers, are on the site every day, Keyamo said on Monday.
Abuja’s Second Runway and Other Airports
Keyamo also said Tinubu had approved CCECC’s return to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, the capital. The firm is to build the airport’s long-delayed second runway.
Keyamo recalled that lawmakers blocked the runway 15 to 20 years ago, when it was priced at N45 billion (US$33.8 million at today’s rate). At the exchange rates of that era, the sum was worth roughly US$300 million.
It now costs nearly N500 billion (US$376 million), he said, according to Punch and Tribune.
He first announced the runway approval in April. CCECC had agreed to build it in 2022, then raised its price to about N532 billion (US$400 million) in 2024.
The government rejected that figure and the firm left the site, The Guardian Nigeria and Daily Trust reported in April.
The July 2025 cabinet package also covered Kano and Port Harcourt. It approved N46.39 billion (US$34.9 million) for Kano’s runways, taxiways and lighting, and N42.14 billion (US$31.7 million) for similar work at Port Harcourt.
A rail link is planned too. Designs are being finalised to extend the Lagos Red Line through the General Aviation Terminal to the new international terminal, BusinessDay reported.
Why the Subsidy Fight Is Back Before the Election
Tinubu ended the petrol subsidy on 29 May 2023, moments after he was sworn in, Vanguard noted. Critics blame the move for the rising cost of food and transport that households face.
Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, has pledged to bring the subsidy back. Nigeria’s presidential election is set for 16 January 2027, Vanguard reported.
Keyamo called the critics’ complaints “cheap blackmail” and said jobs come from investment and infrastructure. “Jobs don’t fall from heaven,” he told the audience.
What It Means for US Readers
Travellers: roughly two-thirds of Nigeria’s international air passengers use Lagos airport, Premium Times reported. Expect building work around the old terminal while the 22-month programme runs.
Investors: reserves near US$55 billion give the central bank firepower to defend the naira, BusinessDay noted. The naira traded at about 1,331 to the US dollar on 6 October 2026.
Muda Yusuf heads the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise. He puts the cost of restoring a universal petrol subsidy at about N19.16 trillion (US$14.4 billion) a year.
That bill would compete with spending on infrastructure, health and education, he says.
Policy watchers: both headline jobs sit with a Chinese contractor, and earlier terminals ran on Chinese loans, Keyamo said. Many African airports struggle to pay their way, as the head of Airports Council International Africa said in Abuja in September.
What Is Not Known
The government has not published how much of the US$500 million has been spent, or how the fund raised it. How that sum relates to the N712.26 billion (US$535 million) contract is also not spelled out.
The runway price is unclear. BusinessDay and Leadership quoted Keyamo as saying nearly N400 billion (US$301 million).
Punch, Tribune and the News Agency of Nigeria quoted him as saying nearly N500 billion (US$376 million).
No contract value or completion date for the renewed Abuja runway deal has been released. Keyamo did not say which measure of reserves his US$3 billion starting figure refers to.
More: Nigeria news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is Nigeria spending to rebuild Lagos airport?
Aviation minister Festus Keyamo says President Bola Tinubu raised US$500 million for the rebuild. The cabinet approved N712.26 billion (US$535 million) for the Lagos works in July 2025.
Did Nigeria borrow the money for Lagos airport?
Keyamo says the Lagos airport money was not borrowed and credits savings from ending fuel and currency subsidies. The Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund that pays for it also targets pension funds and concessionary loans.
Who is building the new airport works?
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) holds the Lagos terminal contract. Keyamo says Tinubu has also approved its return to build a second runway at Abuja airport.
Why is the fuel subsidy in the news again?
Tinubu scrapped it on 29 May 2023, and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar now promises to restore it. The presidential election is set for 16 January 2027.
What does the rebuild mean for travellers?
Lagos airport handles roughly two-thirds of Nigeria’s international passengers, so the works sit on the main route into the country. A rail link from the Lagos Red Line to the terminals is also planned.
Sources: Punch, 6 October 2026; BusinessDay, 5 October 2026; Daily Trust, 5 October 2026; Tribune, 5 October 2026; Daily Nigerian (News Agency of Nigeria), 5 October 2026; Leadership, 5 October 2026; BusinessDay, 5 October 2026; Premium Times, 9 June 2026; The Guardian Nigeria, 2 April 2026; Daily Trust, 2 April 2026; Nairametrics, 1 August 2025; BusinessDay, 7 August 2025; Vanguard, 4 October 2026; Central Bank of Nigeria, external reserves, 2 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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